The Stockyard Institute's website has me very excited by the fact that I am in Chicago. Being an artist and teacher, I am always looking for people that are interested in using the arts to engage in critical pedagogy. After exploring their site, I look forward to learning more about what this group is doing with art education in Chicago. As for the website specifically, the content gives a clear idea of what this group's goals and intentions are. The history of projects, photo galleries, and especially the sound bites from interviews and lectures are helpful for understanding what ideas are being discussed in their pedagogical factory. I appreciate the style of the website and it bring words like humble, insightful, and ground-breaking to my mind. Even though it is basic, the choice of minimal color and basic photo backdrops keep the content the focus. There is no need for flashy components here. My suggestion for the design, however, is to change the size of the text. My eyes started to cramp trying to read the small text, which was distracting and frustrating since I wanted to continue reading. The single navigation window was easy to navigate, but it felt very separated from the background, resulting in a design that is not seamless. If this single window was imbedded in the main page differently, this may not be such a distraction. However, this did not change my excitement for the Stockyard Institute and their work. I think I might go now and listen to their sound bites. B+.
1.3.09
Chicago Is Just Full of Good People and Ideas
The Stockyard Institute's website has me very excited by the fact that I am in Chicago. Being an artist and teacher, I am always looking for people that are interested in using the arts to engage in critical pedagogy. After exploring their site, I look forward to learning more about what this group is doing with art education in Chicago. As for the website specifically, the content gives a clear idea of what this group's goals and intentions are. The history of projects, photo galleries, and especially the sound bites from interviews and lectures are helpful for understanding what ideas are being discussed in their pedagogical factory. I appreciate the style of the website and it bring words like humble, insightful, and ground-breaking to my mind. Even though it is basic, the choice of minimal color and basic photo backdrops keep the content the focus. There is no need for flashy components here. My suggestion for the design, however, is to change the size of the text. My eyes started to cramp trying to read the small text, which was distracting and frustrating since I wanted to continue reading. The single navigation window was easy to navigate, but it felt very separated from the background, resulting in a design that is not seamless. If this single window was imbedded in the main page differently, this may not be such a distraction. However, this did not change my excitement for the Stockyard Institute and their work. I think I might go now and listen to their sound bites. B+.
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Your blog is really good, congratulations
ReplyDeleteThe Stockyard Institute has done lots of projects all over the city, but it's a small-scale operation in that one man does most of the legwork, Jim Duignan. Jim is a pretty incredible individual, and gets the most out of the many collaborations he does do. If you're interested in the group, they're really easy to get involved in. Let me know and I can put you in touch with Jim.
ReplyDeleteI like the simplicity of the site too. Lots of info that neatly chronicles the organization's projects. A slightly cleaner/seamless interface, as you mentioned, would be nice. But still, it gets the job done.